Before the tabloid headlines and the award show antics, Kanye West was an art school dropout who wanted to rap. Not taken seriously as a performer, West silently worked on his 2004 breakout hit, "All Falls Down," while producing songs for Jay Z.
The Grammy-nominated track was off his hugely popular debut record, "The College Dropout." Billboard called it a "paradigm-shifting solo LP which would come to influence almost every bit of hip-hop that came after it."
The 2004 music video is a surprisingly lighthearted take on the rapper, who turns 37 on June 8.
The video is shot from his viewpoint as he and his girlfriend, played by "Clueless" star Stacey Dash, arrive at a California airport to catch a flight with piles of Louis Vuitton luggage and stacks of cash.
"We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it," he raps as he follows his girlfriend through the gate. Alas, he can't catch a break: His shirt gets covered in mustard, and then he's stopped at security. After several attempts, he finally puts himself inside the X-ray machine.
"It seems we living the American dream," West raps. "The people highest up got the lowest self-esteem, the prettiest people do the ugliest things, for the road to riches and diamond rings."
West recalled to the New York Times that when he realized how to make "raps with a message sound cool ... I was able to just write 'All Falls Down' in 15 minutes." Those 15 minutes propelled him to fame.
The rapper's Grammy-winning album has sold more than 3 million copies to date. Not bad for a college dropout.
— Claudine Zap (@zapkidd)

Warmer weather can mean only one thing: "Summertime." The 1991 rap from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (aka Will Smith) is still a popular song for the season.
With a call for "Drums, please!" the music video opens on the two entertainers as they lounge on lawn chairs, sip cold drinks, and run rhymes.
"School is out and it's sort of a buzz," Smith raps. "But back then I didn't really know what it was / But now I see what have of this / The way that people respond to summer madness / The weather is hot and girls are dressing less."
Smith got his start as a G-rated hip-hop artist and then moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to launch his acting career with a starring role in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." His first hit from 1988, "Parents Just Don't Understand," had already scored a Grammy, and was referenced on the show.
Still, the East Coast transplant missed Philly during a certain time of year, according to Jeff. "Summertime" was born.
"We told the director … we wanted to have a cookout and invite all our family and friends," Jeff recalled. "We knew everyone in that video. They were either one of our friends or one of our family members."
Timed perfectly to debut in June, the track took off. The single, which sampled Kool & the Gang's "Summer Madness," peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 and won a Grammy, the duo's second. The video has more than 4.8 million views.
Not bad for an easygoing song of summer.
— Claudine Zap (@zapkidd)

Janet Jackson, who gave us some of the biggest hits of the '80s, turns 48 on May 16. To celebrate, we're taking a look back at her 1986 chart topper
"Control." In the song, and in real life, the singer declared her independence.
The music video, which mimics her life, opens like a television drama: Jackson, in a suburban home, talks with two
actors playing her parents on the day of her first big show.
"Don't you think it's about time I moved out of here and got my own place?" she asks in her trademark soft voice, adding that she put a down payment on an
apartment in Westwood.
"No," says her father. "You're not getting any apartment in Westwood or anyplace else by yourself."
Poor, deluded dad. She leaves the house with her friends, who bring her to the concert hall. Clearly in charge, Jackson performs "Control" to a roaring
crowd.
"When I was 17 I did what people told me, uhh," she sings. "Did what my father said, and
let my mother mold me/ But that was long ago."
The moment seems to reflect Jackson's real-life struggles with her father and manager, Joe Jackson. After the runaway success of the title track of her
top-selling album, she reportedly fired her dad.
"'Control' came from the heart," she said of the single. "It was all about stepping out, taking
control of your life ... a certain point in your life when you ask yourself who you are and what you want to do."
An odd footnote on filming: Fans had arrived at the Los Angeles auditorium expecting a free concert from Jackson but instead had to endure "50 takes of
Janet lip-synching," recalled producer Sharon Oreck.
The soon-to-be superstar made some savvy choices for the single. She hired Paula Abdul to choreograph her signature dance
moves. And "Control" marked her first collaboration with the hit-making songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
The song peaked at No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and has continued to be heard through other
artists. Singer Kylie Minogue sampled
some of the spoken words in her 1991 single "Too Much of a Good Thing." And the tune was performed in
Season 3 of the TV show "Glee.”
— Claudine Zap (@zapkidd)